Thursday, September 17, 2009

Art cartoon: I'm so very sorry

It is traditional when producing cartoons based on works of art to put "After ..." followed by the name of the artist. Out of respect, this often takes the form of "Apologies ..." which I have used here.

It's genuinely felt too, because I love Picasso's "Weeping Woman". It's an amazingly powerful work, particularly when you see it in a gallery. The painting is about bereavement in the Spanish Civil War, and I wondered whether it was a suitable subject for a cartoon.

In the end I decided not to let my liberal guilt get in the way of a cheap gag! So here it is, and sorry again Pablo. The cartoon can be seen in the current Private Eye.

It was drawn with coloured brush pens, as I thought that would be better than using Photoshop. And yes, I used a lightbox to get the "Weeping Woman" right. It was quite a lot of effort to go to for an on-spec gag, much more than is usual, so I'm glad it sold.

13 comments:

This is terrific Royston - and well worth the extra time it must have taken.

I've been trotting out a fair few art-related gags myself recently. Some in a generic gallery setting, others parodying a particular artist or artwork. They can be tricky to get right, but you've nailed it here!

Thanks, chaps. I think a lot of cartoonists do "art" jokes, Rob. Understandable, really. I for one have done more Magritte cartoons than I'd care to admit to.

Len, was that the one where there's footage of him painting on a sheet of glass in front of the camera? I find Picasso a fascinating character because he produced some great art but never did the whole "struggling artist" thing. He was hugely successful and a great self-publicist. That's par for the course with artists now, of course!

Thanks, Tim. Yes I have done paintings ("serious" stuff, not cartoons) but only as part of an oil painting course I attended over the past few years. I don't tend to find much time to paint at home. I was considering showing a couple on this blog, but I haven't been brave enough yet!

I know what you mean about being brave - I often wait to send work off until I'm "a bit better" - but we're always going to have room for improvement!No excuses now Royston - let's see some paintings - you might even find it opens new avenues for you!

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